Hey, I’m a returning (i.e. old) college student who’s looking at a way to earn a modest amt. of $ while meeting classmates, staying out of trouble, etc.
What I remember from being that age is that, while a car is a major hassle to keep on-campus, it’s occasionally useful to have wheels. That would seem like a “rental” situation, EXCEPT that rental co’s typically don’t rent <25!
So, my business plan is:
1. Purchase a cheap used car
2. Sell off 49% to students in, say, 5 even-sized chunks.
3. Make a modest profit off the fractions ($250 sound right?) plus a “maintenance kitty” (expected costs; I’ll either pocket or subsidize repairs, as necc.)
Is this profitable? Legally feasible? What kind of car? (It’d have to be cheap, so totally non-sexy as to discourage any “speed racer” tendencies, etc. My '98 Ford Contour would be good, except for being manual: no go, IMO.)
Love to hear feedback, even if it’s “That has to be the stupidest…!”
Talk w/DMV re:ownership.I’ve done an “X” or “Y” on a pink slip before ,to show 2 registered owners, each with the ability to seperately sell the car.A “X” and “Y” requires both to agree to sell.Don’t know of other splits.
It has to be in someones name. drunk driving,drugs and death are just a few problems. The owner is the one that gets sued most of the time.
Is this profitable? Legally feasible?
Likely it will not be profitable if you consider your time worth anything. Also figure out how you are going to allocate usage. Who gets the 1:00 am to 6:00 am shift and who gets the evening shift?
Likely it will include considerable legal issues as well.
It sounds like a good project for a business school class.
Unless you know for sure about the driving record, the driving skill level, the sense of personal responsibility, the alcohol consumption habits, and the affinity for illegal substances of all of the other parties with whom you plan on sharing a vehicle, I would say that your plan is one that is fraught with potential legal problems. In reality, everyone has certain aspects of his/her life that are unknown to others, and as a result, even the most seemingly responsible/skilled/sober person may have some skeletons lurking in his/her closet that can make this a dicey proposition for you.
Go ahead if you wish, but I see this as something that could wind up giving you many legal and financial problems in the long run.
Well, people do this with airplanes. A group of guys will get together and purchase a plane that none of them can afford individually. So there is some legal way to handle ownership and insurance, but probably not economical for a cheap car. Then you’ve got scheduling issues with college students like who gets to use the car for Thanksgiving or Spring Break? You know everyone will want it then.
I’m not trying to be discouraging, just realistic.
I think what might work is something like a small time version of Rent-A-Wreck. You get a few cars (3 or 4, maybe) and rent them out cheap to students on a first-come first-served basis. You will probably discover pretty quickly why the big rental companies don’t rent to under 25s. Good luck.